Final Fantasy IX - The No-Nonsense Guide
========================================
by Elranzer - Started July 7th, 2000
Email: elranzer2@hotmail.com
Version: 5.1
Welcome to Final Fantasy IX Guide 5.3
=====================================
This FAQ is copyright 2000 to me. Don't copy or plagiarize, it's naughty!
This is a "quickie guide," you will not find *all* boss strategies,
nor item or spell lists. Why? Well, I only wanna help you beat
the game, and let you explore it yourself. It's much more rewarding.
It is now updated for the English version of Final Fantasy IX, although
it started as the Japanese walkthrough.
This is best printed with Microsoft Word, period.
Total Pages: 9
Table of Contents and Stuff
===========================
I. About the Game
II. Playable Heroes and Villains
III. The Guide
IV. Elranzer Stuff
I. About the Game
=================
- The game has the same controls as Final Fantasy 8
- Even push SQUARE to challenge the card game!
- Push CIRCLE when a "!" or "?" appears over a character's head for events
- About the game's magic/ability system, three words: Final Fantasy 6
- Equipping items can give you spells, like ULTIMA from Paladin Shield in FF6
- Also like in FF6, you keep the spell even if you unequip the item later
- Finally, like FF6, each character has their own ability and Job Class
- Talk to the Moogles to save your game
- Call Moogles with MOGNET! on the world map with the SQUARE button
- Active Time Events (ATE) show events going on while you're doing whatever
- Press SELECT when the ATE icon appears to see a list of current events
- Press SELECT on the menu screen for a surprise
II. Cast of Characters
======================
- Zidane - Thief - has STEAL and SECRET TECH
- Garnet/Dagger - Summoner - has SUMMON and WHITE MAGIC
- Vivi - Black Mage - has BLACK MAGIC and STORE
- Steiner - Knight - has SWORD TECH and SWORD MAGIC
- Freya - Dragoon - has JUMP and DRAGON TECH
- Quina - Blue Mage - has EAT and BLUE MAGIC
- Eiko - White Mage - has WHITE MAGIC and SUMMON
- Amarant - Monk - has BLITZ and THROW
- Beatrix - Valkyrie - has HOLY SWORD TECH and HOLY SWORD MAGIC
- Marcus - Thief - has STEAL
- Blank - Theif - has STEAL
- Cinna - Theif - has STEAL
- Kuja - Main villain, has long white hair and killer hips
- Queen Brahne - Second villain, Garnet's so-called mom
- Regent Cid - Ruler of Lindbulm, the last standing kingdom to Alexandria
III. The Walkthrough
====================
- Woo-hoo, let's getta move on now, be the first on your block to win
III-A. Disc 1
=============
- Light the lantern in the middle of the room
- Name "Zidane" as your comrades rush in
- Thieves Cinna, Marcus, and Blank will assist you in a battle
- After Baku reveals himself and chats, you'll move into Alexandria
1. Alexandria Town
-------------------
- As the Black Mage, follow the crowd north
- Play jump rope with the kids if you like, 20 jumps to win
- Go into the inn near the kids to see a sequence
- Go into the ally near the kids and talk to Dante until he leaves
- Follow the Rat Kid when he runs off with the ladder
- Look up the tower, Moogles Kupo and Stiltskin tell you about saving
- Follow the kid up the ladder
- Name "Vivi" and the rat kid introduces himself as Puck, follow him
- As Zidane, battle King Leo
- As you fence with Blank, press the buttons he says for a perfect show
2. Alexandria Castle
---------------------
- Run upstairs and talk to the White-Hooded Girl
- After Beatrix talks to jesters Zorn and Thorn, name "Steiner"
- As Steiner, make your way outside and go into the west tower
- Run up the tower, as Zidane follow the White-Hooded Girl
- After she talks to Ruby, follow her into the ship's basement
- Go into the left room, soon you'll battle Steiner
- Queen Brahne will get mad and fire a Bomb
- When the Bomb appears, you cannot hit it; continue to battle Steiner
3. Evil Forest
---------------
- First, play the game's first ATE
- Go into the forest, I suggest you build up to Level 3 at least
- Now you gotta fight the Prison Cage plants for Garnet and Vivi
- A la Rinoa and Adel, you must heal Garnet, if she dies it's Game Over
- You can't save Garnet but you can save Vivi
- Back at the broken ship, go into all rooms and talk to everyone
- You'll soon fight Baku... AGAIN!
- Then... AGAIN... go into all rooms and talk
- You can leave and go back into the forest
- Use the recovery spring for HP/MP refills and Status
- Deeper in, you will fight a boss and save Garnet
- Afterwards... RUN!
- The Moogle Monty will show you out of the forest and give you MOGNET!
4. The Mist Continent
----------------------
- Not much here, head south to the...
5. Ice Cavern
--------------
- This is pretty straightforward, be sure to melt ice to hidden rooms
- At the fork in the road go right
- After the battle with Black Waltz 1, get your party and go back up
- Outside the cave you can finally rename "Garnet"
6. Village of Dali
-------------------
- Head northwest to the windmill-looking town
- Start at the inn
- After you get up, find Vivi then Garnet then head back to the inn
- After the Steiner event, go towards the windmill to hear Vivi's voice
- Go into the windmill and into the hatch near the door
- After you get Vivi back, go right to see a chilling scene
- As Steiner, go into the hut and talk to Morid then leave
- Check the barrel, you'll get everyone back and fight Black Waltz 2
- Head onto the new airship
- On the ship's deck you'll fight Black Waltz 3 and see more events
7. Lindbulm Grand Castle
-------------------------
- Follow Chancellor Olberta
- Meet the ruler here, Cid Fabul VIII
- In the pub, talk to Lillian, then name "Freya"
- After the events, go across the street from the inn to the station
- Be sure to forge a sword at the blacksmith's, Zidane can blind enemies with it
- Transit to the castle
- Talk to the girl sitting in the mezzanine then leave
- Transit to Uptown, go into the clock tower, Zidane should sleep
- Go south of the clock tower to see a fan club for a giant moogle
- Return to the castle, talk to Steiner
- Go into the fountain room, you should here singing
- Go back to the mezzanine, talk to the sitting guard
- Now dressed as a guard, go to the room the white guard was blocking
- Follow the singing up and to the left of the tower
- After the events and the Hunting Game begins, use the transit
- You have 12 minutes to kill enemies, you CAN beat Freya
- After the dinner scene, head to the basement, take the left pod and exit
- Go right to the nearest woods just north to get into...
10. Qu's Marsh
---------------
- Head north to where there's a swamp, some frogs, and a weird guy
- Catch a frog and give it to the weirdo, name him "Quina"
- King Querna will let Quina go with you
- Play the Frog Eating Game if you like, then leave
- Head to the eastern river and cross to...
11. Chocobo's Forest
---------------------
- Talk to Mene the moogle to get some Giysal Greens
- If you want a Chocobo, use the greens on Chocobo tracks on the map
12. Gizamaluke's Grotto
------------------------
- Talk to the dead guy inside to get Gizamaluke's Bell
- Use the bell as a key to the door
- Fight some Black Mages, the one walking around has another G. Bell
- Go into the room on the farthest east side
- Do the event with the moogles and big bell to get another G. Bell
- Go into the right room to save, you'll get Holy Bell as you leave
- Go into the left room and fight the boss
- Blind the boss with Zidane if you can
13. South Gate
---------------
- Talk to everyone here and exit to the northeast door
- When you get Garnet, get on the train
14. Burmecian Kingdom
----------------------
- Go north, fight the Black Mages
- Go in the right house, find the platform that falls when you step on it
- Go out and into the left house, jump the balcony when you can
- Get the Protector Bell hidden under the bed and leave to the right house
- Go into the locked door with the bell
- Go in the front door of the next building, then up the outside stairs
- In the Castle area, there's a Moogle in the eastern door
- At the castle you will see Queen Brahne with Beatrix and someone else
- You will now fight Beatrix, but she and Brahne get away
- Meet Kuja, your new greatest threat at the end of Disc 1
III-B. Disc 2
=============
- Find Zidane's friends and talk to them, follow them when they leave
- Get on then off the train, you'll fight Black Waltz 3 for the last time
- Leave the gate area through the eastern path, the west goes to Dali
1. Dark City Treno
-------------------
- If you meet Queen Stella, she'll say she's looking for some items
- Find the Auction House and switch to Garnet
- Find the pub with Marcus, he'll lead you to Baku
- You'll see an event with Kuja and hear his theme
- Now find the tower with Toto and his big globe
2. Gargan Roo
--------------
- Go in the left room, push the lever
- Now go in the right room, pull the rope then push the little door
- On the Ant Ship you'll get off and fight a boss and get stuck
3. Cleyra's Trunk
------------------
- Leave Burmecian Kingdom and head towards the big sandstorm
- Press the switch to enter the tree
- Climb to the top and find the switch in the trunk
- Go back and then upwards to the room with whirlpools of quicksand
- Head left across the quicksand to the tree village
- Run around the tree village until the music stops
- Head to the tree village entrance and to the right to fight Ant Lion
- After the Riverdance, and you control Freya, just try to leave Cleyra
- When Puck brings you back, you'll fight Black Mages and Valkyrie
- Eventually you'll fight Beatrix again
- Now it's your turn to follow Beatrix onto the Red Rose airship
- When it switches to Steiner, swing the cage to break it then RUN
- When Zidane meets Steiner, you have 30 minutes to find Garnet
- She's in a secret dungeon hidden behind the fireplace in her bedroom
- You can now finally kick Zorn and Thorn's asses, then you'll fight Beatrix
- In an odd act of irony, Beatrix will join your party and revive Garnet
- Freya and Beatrix have to fight the Thunder Snatch (yes, it's called that)
- Escape back down to the dungeon and out the door to the Ant Ship
4. Pinnacle Rocks
------------------
- Talk to Ramuh, asking you to find him five times
- DO NOT find him the five times unless you are FLUENT in Japanese!!!
- When Ramuh asks you something, take the second choice then the first
- Exit to the left, then a big FMV with Brahne and Odin appear
- You'll be in Lindbulm, talk around until you find Cid
- He'll guide you out of Lindbulm
- Now it's time to go to Qu's Marsh again
- Get Quina back, then head to the east-most side of the Marsh
5. Fossil Roo
--------------
- Inside, when the trap appears, RUN and avoid the pendulums
- You'll meet and fight Roni
- Next, pick a flower then hold it up to ride a Gargant
- Talk to the miner, then go upwards
- Ride the Gargant, hit the switch there, then ride it again
- Here, hit that switch, then make your way back to the miner
- Now go down, past the moogles, ride the Gargant
- You should be at a miner who sells you stuff
- Go up, but don't hit the switch, ride the Gargant
- Here, climb the vines to the switch, then leave by the east side
- Ride the Gargant and exit to...
6. The Outer Continent
-----------------------
- Notice your SELECT map is bigger
- Head east to the bridge-looking place
7. Conde Petie
---------------
- Find Vivi, when the Black Mage leaves, follow it
- Head down and around to the nearby forest
- Go into the bunch of trees labeled "?"
- Hear is a maze, when you go the right way, an owl will fly away
- Remember, if the owls fly away you are going the right way
- When all owls fly away, you'll see the Black Mage and enter the...
8. Black Mage Village
----------------------
- Go into the inn, you'll find one of Stella's items near the bunks
- Find Garnet then Vivi, go back to the inn for an event
- Go back to Conde Petie
- Talk to the dwarf walking near the inn
- Now go to the east most shop, where dwarfs were blocking the exit
9. Mountain Path
-----------------
- Name the little girl "Eiko"
- Head east the up towards the moogles
- Head around, down, then east to see the big tree
- Fight Hell Giygas then continue outside
- On the map, head towards the tree stump-looking place
10. Madain Sari Lost Summoners
-------------------------------
- You'll meet Mog, the littlest moogle
- Go up and talk to Moco, you'll see Quina
- Check the fountain for another of Stella's items
- Find Vivi, then go where Moco and Quina were
- Find Garnet, take her to where Moco and Quina were
- Go in the hut near Vivi, Mog will let you in
- After dinner, grab the stuff off the table and bring it to Eiko
- Try to leave the hut
- Leave this place, go through the Mountain Path to get to...
11. Iifa, the Ancient Tree of Life
-----------------------------------
- Eiko knows what to do here
- Climbing the tree is pretty straightforward
- Ask Eiko for help again at the prompt
- You'll climb down to the bottom from inside
- Check the left side of the structure at the bottom
- You will fight Iifa's Soul (use an Elixer or Pheonix Down)
- Return to Madain Sari
- Find Eiko, then follow her to the Lost Summoner's Circle
- Fight Roni and Amarant, then go to Eiko's room
- Outside Eiko's house, check for the "!" spot
- After the events, go back to Iifa
- After you talk to Kuja, try to escape
III-C. Disc 3
=============
- Find Black and Marcus in the alley, go down the stairs
- As Eiko, go to the room with two staircases
- As Zidane and Vivi, go towards the castle
- Eventually you'll wind up in Treno
- Return any items to Stella, try to win Darkmatter in the Auction
- Keep going into the Card Game House until Cid appears
- Fight Kuja's beasts with Steiner and Beatrix
- As Garnet, go towards her room and up the left tower
- Take Zidane towards where Garnet is
- In Lindbulm, find your party then Garnet in the usual place
- Talk to your party and Cid
- When Garnet's gone, find her in the guest room
- Return to see Cid, he wants you to find three leaves
- One is downtown, a woman near a ladder has it
- The second one is held by Zidane's friends uptown
- The third is hidden in the painter's room near the uptown transit
- Return them to Cid, he should transform into a frog
- Go to the boat area, your should now have a new vehicle
- In the boat, head towards Black Mage Village
- Find Vivi near the scarecrow, then find Vivi again
- Leave, go NE on the map to a bunch of desert whirlpools
- One of the four will bring you into a new dungeon
- Go towards the Black Mages, then talk to Kuja
- You'll be divided into two parties so distribute them evenly
- Now get into Kuja's airship
1. The Forgotten Continent
---------------------------
- Head north right away to get your Chocobo, you'll NEED it
- Now go south and try to find the castle-looking place
2. Oeilvert
------------
- Go upstairs and turn the blue orb pink
- Go into the left room, you should see a big hologram
- Go farther into the room, find the four "projectors"
- Turn them all on, a ghost should appear in each one
- Then go around the bridge until you find an orb and check it
- View the orb's show, then the locked door near the hologram is open
- Hear the faces's stories, then leave the left side of this place
- Go into the right side, there should be more holograms, go right
- Take the platform to the bottom, you'll fight Ark (can't use MAGIC!)
- It should now s witch over to Cid
- Go into the room where the Black Mages were blocking
- Mini-game, move Cid with CIRCLE when the monster's not looking
- Now check the balance thing, look at the bottles, and take the last option
3. Desert Empress
------------------
- Now as Party #2, go left into the empress
- Here, you'll be lighting candles plenty to solve puzzles
- You'll eventually wind up in a library, light all four candles
- Go in each of the rooms from the library and light their candles too
- Back in the library, you'll hear a moogle, go towards him
- In the twin gargoyles's room, make their shadows go left for a staircase
- Go up, fight the boss
- Now as Zidane's group, talk to Kuja, then leave
- Exit from where his airship was parked, push a lever and climb down
4. The Sealed Continent
------------------------
- Grab your Chocobo and head west to...
5. Esto Gaza
-------------
- Not much here, go inside then right into...
6. Gulg Volcano
----------------
- Climb down the rope, then move the bucket down three times
- Climb down to the bucket, fight the Red Dragon
- You'll fight Thorn and Zorn then see some long event
- Eventually you'll get the airship from Cid
7. Daguerreo
-------------
- Find this town in a waterfall cave by itself near F. Continent
- Not much here but a great Combination Shop
8. Ipsen's Heritage
--------------------
- Take the airship to the castle on F. Continent that was in a hole
- Find Amarant in a room and get the medallions
- Study this map, it's where you'll need to drop the medallions
- Try to leave, then you'll go back in as just Zidane
- Amarant's just near the bottom of the pole this time
- Note: you do not have to land the airship to get to the medal locations
- First medallion: find a big whirlpool in the ocean in the south
- Second: Fly the airship into Gulg Volcano
- Third: A wind tunnel on the south part of F. Continent
- Fourth: An earth quaking spot near the Desert Empress, there's three rocks
- Each group will fight the elemental guardians
- These guys remind me of Lich, Kary, Tiamat, and Kraken from FF1
- After all this, go towards the new location on the map
- It looks like an iceberg full of glowing green Makou from FF7
9. Terra
---------
- Follow the blonde girl
- When you meet up with her, continue upwards
10. Branbal
------------
- Find the inn to trigger an event
- As Eiko, get Quina, Vivi, and Amarant and go into the green gate
- As Zidane, go find Garland (more FF1 references!)
11. Pandemonium
----------------
- Keep following Garland
- Afterwards, there'll be some battles
- After you get Garnet, go back for the rest of your friends
- Turn on the Time Trial lights, then exit the SW exit
- Make the thing in the cage face right then continue on
- It's pretty straightforward from here
- Now it's time to fight Garland and Kuja
- After the events, exit this place
III-D. Disc 4
=============
- Do some leveling up, items, Chocobo crap, etc
- When you're ready, head on over to Iifa and the portal to...
1. Grand Finale: Memoria Palace
--------------------------------
- You'll fight Kary, Tiamat, Kraken, and Lich without warning
- This is so much like Final Fantasy 1 you'll vomit
- Be sure to STEAL several times from each one
- This area is directly straightforward, it's easy
- When you meet Kuja, you'll fight Doomgaze
- NOTE: Phoenix Downs will NOT instantly kill Doomgaze and Lich this time
- After that battle, go back and save, then meet up with Kuja
- After Trance Kuja, you'll reform to fight Necron
- If you have Beatrix, DO NOT use her now !
- Steiner's GLOOM SWORD and a couple of Darkmatters should eat him up
- Both Kuja and Necron have 50,000 HP; so it's not too hard
THE END